The company Christie’s held the auction entitled “Pre-Columbian Art & Taino Masterworks from the Fiore Arts Collection”, made up of 139 lots with pieces originating from different countries, of which 87 have traits attributed to cultures that inhabited current Mexican territory; 15 were identified by INAH experts as false and 72 as pre-Hispanic goods attributed to the Mayan, Aztec, Chontal, Mixtec, Olmec and Huasteca cultures.
In total, for the pieces attributed to cultures that inhabited the current Mexican territory, 3 million 62 thousand 750 euros were collected, that is, 72 million 512 thousand 218 pesos.
A Mayan ax from the Pacific coast region was the one that was sold with the highest price: 692 thousand euros (16 million 309 thousand 399 pesos), as well as an Olmec pendant, from the pre-Classic period, which was auctioned for 162 thousand 500 euros (3 million 829 thousand 880 pesos).
Other millionaire pieces were a miniature Mayan head, with a starting price of between 15 and 20 thousand euros, reached 22 thousand 500 euros (5 million 302 thousand 911 pesos); a Huasteca figure was sold for 125 thousand euros (2 million 946 thousand 061 pesos) and a large head of “a Mayan dignitary” for 112 thousand 500 euros (2 million 651 thousand 455 pesos).
Of the 72 goods, 21 did not reach the starting prices and were not sold.
In addition, of the 15 pieces considered fake because they are of recent manufacture, 13 were sold, as two did not reach a starting price. Lot 58, which corresponded to a warrior palanquin, valued between 30 thousand and 50 thousand euros, reached a price of 93 thousand 750 euros, (2 million 209 thousand 546 pesos).
The auction took place despite the fact that the Ministry of Culture promoted the label #MiPatrimonioNoSeVende in recent days, which was joined by artists, legislators, the head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum; the spokesman for the Presidency, Jesús Ramírez; and Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller.
On October 22, Alejandra Frausto, Secretary of Culture, sent a first letter to Christie’s, in which she expressed her rejection of the auction. On November 8, he sent a second letter to make a call “to potential buyers to become aware that Mexico’s heritage is not a luxury item to decorate a house.” After the auction, neither the agency nor the secretary offered a positioning.
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